I hate to bring this up, but is it possible to get a statement about what happened with Invictus? I don't care about details if that's not necessary. My only concern is to find out whether there's a possibility of a disruption like that with Ethereum, which could affect the project if we're focusing on the longer-term.
There were strategic and creative differences in the company and eventually it lead to a parting. We have since resolved all issues and it's considered to be a closed issue. If it's any consolation, Invictus is doing quite well as a company and shipping products thus I suppose the business plan wasn't too bad.
Unlike Invictus, we had a chance to get to know each other here on the Ethereum team and I'm very good friends with Anthony and Vitalik. We've collaborated first on the Bitcoin Education Project and his work on the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada. Ultimately, you have to make sure you have good team dynamics and respect prior to launching a venture. We did that here with Ethereum and even lived together at a beach house in Miami for a week to see how much we could get on each other's nerves. This really is the best team I've ever worked on.
This is great! Thank you. I think some of the growing pains we're experiencing in this thread are attributable to the idea that we're trying to evaluate Ethereum in terms of what we've been exposed to so far in the "anything that's not Bitcoin space". We can't evaluate a different paradigm adequately using the same old methods. You guys have a long-term perspective, and want to put organisational power behind the ideas. Contrary to what some people seem to believe, that's actually a really good thing. Running it like a community-engaged organisation, as well as being members of that community, is a powerful thing that'll bring many benefits.
Without your team being vested in what you work on, how can you steer this ship into uncharted oceans? People need to remember that those who work on this aren't labourers, they need to be vested to ensure the longevity of benefits to the community. Anyway, I don't want to sound like a pro-Ethereum shill, but I welcome something new and look forward to being part of it. Hard work should be respected.
EDIT: Can we get some swag too?